On the occasion of this 28th edition, some of the players who have made the tournament famous agreed to share their memories of the final. On Sunday 24 February 2019, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Mikhail Kukushkin.
Stefanos Tsitsipas: "The best feeling ever
"I had a lot of stress during this week. I played against good players, especially in the final. I didn't want to lose it. My heart was really beating faster than usual. I could feel the tension in my body. And when you play against a player like Mikhail Kukuhkin, it's hard to stay relaxed! But I am working on that, to be more confident and play without stress. It wasn't easy at the beginning, because there was a period between the Australian Open and the week before Marseille when I felt empty inside. I didn't feel very motivated to play. I was frustrated because that's not me, that's not Stefanos, not having that drive to win. I had lost that spark in my game and I had the impression that I wasn't going to find it again. But in Marseille, during the whole week, I finally felt that hunger for victory again.
Little by little I found my rhythm. Playing doubles with my brother also helped me a lot. But I played really badly! He played very well, but I didn't play at all and we lost. Despite the loss, the doubles match helped me to get into my stride and then my level of play in singles increased throughout the week. In the final, I had a hard time against Kukushkin and his game, which is really difficult. It's sometimes difficult to find solutions against him! But I stayed strong, especially mentally.
It's really a great victory for me. I didn't lose a single set, so I must say it's a great performance! And winning titles is very important. Titles mean a lot, because they don't happen by magic, you have to go and get them. That's how it works. The only thing I can do is put my soul on the court and fight until the end. And if the end result is positive, then that's the best feeling ever. Winning titles is what I work for, what I play for, so it's the biggest satisfaction and the biggest joy in tennis. When I won my first title in Stockholm, I thought, "I really want to do that again. I'm happy that it happened in Marseille, or as they call it in Greece, Massalia. It's an incredible feeling.
Mikhail Kukushkin: "One of the best weeks of my life
"It's a great memory despite the defeat! To reach the final of such a tournament was like a dream. It was only the fourth time in my career that I reached this level. And to do it in Marseille, where great players have won, it was an incredible feeling.
I remember that, of course, I was not the favourite on paper. But I tried to stay focused and not think about it. I knew I was playing very well, and I hadn't lost a set since the beginning of the week. In the final, I feel like the defining moment was when I lost my serve at 5-4 in the second set. Obviously I had to win that game if I wanted to win the match, it's as simple as that!
Then I made some mistakes in the tie-break. I would have preferred to win, but I think it was still a very good match, where I played very good tennis. Unfortunately, my little mistakes decided the winner. This week in Marseille will remain one of the best moments of my career. It was great for me, a very solid week in terms of my game. I can even say that it was one of the best weeks of my life so far.
